Star Fox: Terror in the Stars
by Demo ODST
Summary: over two centuries have passed since the Raccoon City incident, and now Bio-terror has become an intergalactic threat. on a random tip, two agents from a new counter terror agency are sent to investigate a resort station in the Lylat system. Mean while, Fox McCloud hunts for his abducted team member, finding himself on a resort station, one that falls out of contact with the galaxy
1. Prologue

**this story is called boredom, and playing to much zombie games, lol.**

 **On a serious note, i think i may have fun trying to write in a whole new genre for me, although it is nice to be using characters i know and love for it. i hope you guys enjoy and please, tell me if you all want to read more of this!**

* * *

 _Deep Space_

Fox sighed as he guided his Arwing away from the Great Fox, headed toward the deep space station far ahead of him. The speaker on his HUD rig buzzed to life as Peppy spoke.

"Fox? Good luck. I hope you find what you're looking for." Fox sighed, one of his clawed fingers tracing the side of a deep blue vixen's face in the photograph pasted to his dash.

"Yeah, I hope so. Tell Falco and Slip to kick ass while I'm gone. Should only be for a few weeks." He heard Falco grunt over the comms.

"Since when did we not? Worry about your own tail Fox. You're gonna have your own problems if you actually find her, cause I highly don't he will just let you have her." Fox sighed as the station drew closer in his canopy.

"I'll be fine Falco. Fox Out." He clicked his radio off as he approached the station. It was a massive affair, designed to be an exquisite stop for cruise liners, as well as a deep space resort for those who had the money for it. the station looked like twin half sphere's, connected by a long central hub that was simply covered in docking ports. There were also hangers along the rim's of the globes, one of those being Fox's destination. Thousands of windows were visible along the white skin of the station, with at least three liners docked next to the docking hub. His range finder put the station at thirty clicks out when his radio cracked to life again, an unfamiliar voice on the other side.

"Ares control to unidentified fighter craft, please state your business here." Fox quickly keyed his comm up and spoke, slowly and calmly even though he was almost bouncing in his seat with nervousness.

"This is Fox McCloud of the Star Fox team, simply looking for some rest and relaxation." _I wish. I cant rest until I've found her._ The thought crossed his mind as he spoke, nearly causing him to say it instead.

"Ah, Mister McCloud, we've been hoping you would one day visit, we have a seventy two hour pass waiting for you, on us. Our way of saying thank you for your efforts in protecting us from destruction." Fox smirked, having been aware of the pass since the end of the Lylat war, almost a decade ago. He had been planning to bring his girlfriend there, but her mysterious abduction just six months after the Aparoid threat had cut that plan short.

"Why that's very generous of you guys. I'll make good use of it." he tried to sound happy over the comms, feeling himself already cracking. _Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought._

"We thought you would. Please pilot your vessel to hanger nine, residential, our staff will meet you there. Forwarding flight data to you now. have a pleasant stay Mr. McCloud." Fox sighed as the radio cut, setting the nav data they sent him into his computer, letting the autopilot on his third gen Arwing handle the approach. His eyes dropped once again to the picture of the beautiful vixen, speaking quietly to himself.

"I will find you Krystal. I swear I will."

* * *

 _Passenger Liner Icarus, Deep Space_

William Hawkins fiddled with his side arm as he sat in one of the seats of the small passenger liner, his partner glancing at him and rolling his eyes. They were newly made partners, even though they were actually long time friends, having served together in the U.S. military before joining the I.B.T.T.F., or the Interstellar Biological Terror Task Force, the grandson of the earth born B.S.A.A..

"Why do you still carry that thing anyway? You know Cornerian blaster's are still better suited to this job, right?" the blaster in question was a human military issue weapon, using depleted uranium in a ceramic casing as it's source of plasma, limiting the weapon to only eight shots per magazine, unlike the hydrogen based blasters from Corneria, capable of firing hundreds of shots without a new magazine. Will smirked as he finally left the weapon alone, crossing his arms.

"Tell me that again when you've fought an Aparoid, or one of the other tough ass BOW's. Cornerian weapons lack the power needed to knock them down in one shot, Ramirez." The heavily muscled Hispanic smirked, having heard that reason a hundred times over.

"I'm sorry about Amanda by the way. Cant be easy what you are going through." Will just grunted, his mind drifting off to what happened just a few weeks ago, walking into his small New York apartment to discover his high school sweetheart with his best friend. A dull ache still echoed from his chest, nowhere near as powerful as it had been when he walked out of that door, but it still remained as painful as it was that day.

"It's fine. It's not like you could have done anything anyway. Some things just have to happen." They were both actually new Agents, having originally been members of Tactical BOW teams. But, Will had been stationed in the Lylat system, Ramirez being light years away during the Aparoid invasion. Ramirez had plenty of experience hunting down the people behind bio terror attacks, whereas, Will had plenty of experience fighting BOW's, and both had assumed that this was why they were made partners.

"Do you think it's true?" Will glanced at him as he spoke, one eyebrow raised, his voice much softer than it had been. "That someone actually stole a strain of the T-virus?" Will shrugged, honestly not caring all that much. Even though it had been almost two centuries, beyond the occasional genetic experiment or airborne disease, there had not been a virus that had been as potent or horrifying as the effects of the T-virus.

"I don't know. I just hope that tip about the hidden bio lab is true, otherwise, this will be one expensive wild goose chase." Ramirez grunted in agreement, the ship lurching slightly as it docked.

"Now arriving at Ares Station. Please enjoy your stay!" Ramirez and Will were the only two passengers aboard the vessel, grabbing their duffels out of the luggage area before leaving the ship, stepping off into the station beyond. The central hub was essentially a large cylinder connecting the two halves of the station, and had a large windowed sphere in the center, marking where the gravity shifted from one direction to the other. No matter where you stood, this dome was beneath you. One of the adventures advertised on the station was feeling what the original space explores would have felt, floating around in zero gravity. Each level of the hub was a terminal, with benches filling the rounded chamber, and several departure and arrival boards. The center of each floor was the main elevator shaft that ran the length of the station, able to flip the elevators over when they passed through the zero gravity area. Standalone shops, mainly novelty shops, dotted the tier, as well as a few restaurants. There had to be near on a thousand Lylattians here in this one room alone. A bouncy cheetah like feline came trotting over to us, a smile on her face. She was wearing a simple blue formal shirt and a tight button up blouse, tucked into the skirt. It made her look almost like an informal flight attendant. On her shirt was a name plate that Will could already make out. _Savanah._

"Hello gentlemen, would you to be Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Ramirez?" both men nodded in unison and she practically jumped with joy. "Splendid! Come with me and I'll help get you two situated. Oh, my name is Savannah, and you'll find a wrist communicator in your rooms preprogramed with my number! If you ever need anything, feel free to call!" Will quickly cut in, trying to not sound hostile to the women, and failing spectacularly.

"Excuse me, but will you just show us to our cabins? We're here on business, and I'd like to get to it." her ears flattened to her head and she pouted slightly.

"Very well sir. Although, just as a word of advice, try to throw a little pleasure into business whenever you can." She turned toward the central elevators and stalked toward them, Ramirez already speaking into Will's ear.

"well, your chances of getting a new girlfriend just went from slim to absolutely none. Come on man, most people never even get to see this place, much less be here! I intend to enjoy myself a little as we investigate. I'm mean, the force is funding all of this, so why not?" Will groaned at him as Will slipped his duffel bag onto his shoulders, Ramirez doing the same before the two of them followed the cheetah through the crowd. Ramirez trotted up to beside her, smiling as he spoke.

"Pardon my partner there, he's in a bit of a sour mood. I on the other hand wouldn't mind the ins and outs of the local club and bar scene?" the cheetah perked up a little bit, glancing back at Will.

"Well, it depends. There are a few nice quiet bars, good for quiet couples." Ramirez's expression of mock horror got the cheetah to chuckle slightly. "But for those of us living the single life, I go to our branch of Solstice. Back on Corneria, it's a very formal restaurant. Here? It's a rowdy crazy party every night, filled with single women, if you can beat out the competition that is." Ramirez just grinned, dropping back a bit to elbow Will's arm.

"Ya hear that Hawkins, big club, loaded with single women, Always crazy…. Sound familiar?" Will glared at him and he whispered into Will's ear. "Hey, come on man, live a little. I know you just got divorced but ya gotta see the positive in that! We can hit that bachelor scene together again!"

"Ramirez, stop. Please." Will could feel tears trying to fight their way out as Ramirez's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I know you are trying to help, but it's just too soon for me. Alright?" he nodded, standing politely behind the cheetah in the elevator.

"So what agency are you boys with?" her voice sounded polite and innocent, but both men could instantly tell she was trying to get to know them for some reason.

"The Interstellar Biological Terrorism Task Force." Will's voice was just as rough and hostile as it had been before, but the cheetah seemed able to shrug it off.

"So what makes the virus police interested in Ares." Will spoke before Ramirez could.

"Classified ma-am." Ramirez elbowed Will again before he spoke.

"Just a routine inspection. The CDF asked us too, given their forces are still stretched thin after the whole Aparoid affair." She turned to face them, grinning slightly as she leaned up against the wall of the elevator.

"Ah, so nothing to worry about I guess?" The two men nodded in unison, Will shifting the heavy duffel on his back. "So anything other than the clubs catch your fancy sir?" her question was aimed mainly toward Ramirez, but her eyes kept glancing at Will, as if she was hoping he would loosen up as well.

"I honestly don't know. Hawkins here is the one who's heard a good deal about this place, he's been stationed in Lylat for a year and half now." Will grunted, earning him another elbow from Ramirez, rougher this time.

"Fine. I heard the theme park is one of a kind. There, I said something friendly, ya happy now?" Ramirez chuckled and clapped Will's shoulder.

"No, but you're getting me there." The cheetah rolled her eyes at the two men, gesturing at the glass walls of the elevator.

"If you two would be so kind as to hold onto the rails, we are about to enter the Zee-Gee dome. Suddenly, the cabin was filled with light from the distant star, flooding through the clear walls of the dome and into their elevator car. Will barely managed to grab the rail in time as the gravity in the car cut out, just as the thing suddenly began rotating as it drifted through the space, shooting back into the elevator shaft. Gravity suddenly returned, dropping all three individual's back to the floor, all three staggering slightly.

"I hate that feeling." Will was slightly green in the face as he spoke, earning him a raised eyebrow.

"Since when?"

"The Aparoid threat. Not saying more." Ramirez shrugged silence falling over them as the elevator raced through the residential sphere. When the elevator stopped, she led the way through a maze of hallway's, all the way to the outer ring of cabins, marking the luxurious suites usually checked out by on the richest and most famous people. Will's eyes went wide as he realized they were staying there, almost disgusted by it. Ramirez on the other hand was clearly excited.

"Here we are! Management bumped up your reservations to the space view suites, in light of your work to protect the system. Again if you need anything, my number is in the wrist communicators in your rooms, but I must be off, another guest is going to arrive shortly that I have to escort here. Enjoy your stay!" Will gulped before he turned and stepped into his room, already wishing he wasn't here.

* * *

 _Ares Station, two weeks later_

Mira Marshall adjusted the power setting on her small carbine as the small shuttle rocked slightly, still a few minutes from the station. Her mind drifted back to the brief, remember the names of the two agents sent to investigate the station before it went dark, one in particular drawing her attention. William Hawkins was the reason she had joined the I.B.T.T.F., having saved her and her family from Aparoids during the Aparoid threat. She still remembered their last conversation just weeks ago, him informing her of the divorce with his wife. The two of them had been tight friends, primarily over calls and messages, for the past year since he saved her life, something that Mira honestly wished was different.

"Hey Marshal, you ready to go?" she was torn from her thoughts as her attention shifted to her team leader, Christopher Mills. Most of the team just called him Chris though.

"yeah, of course. You know I've fought Aparoids before, right?" the brown haired brown eyed human chuckled as one of their other team mates responded.

"I don't think stabbing a 'totter with a Kitchen knife really counts." One of her other team mates, Reece. She let her shoulder's slump as she glared at him. 'Totter was a nickname for one of the few Aparoids to spawn without a host of some sort, and wasn't technically considered a BOW. Reece was another human, with deep black hair that he kept long, by male standards at least. He specialized in long range tactics. Or in simpler terms, he was the groups dedicated sniper. Mira was the team's intrusion specialist, having a knack for tricking even the most well defended doors into opening.

"For your information, I did pick up a weapon and shoot a few _after_ I stabbed the first one. Also squished one with a shelter door." The last two members of the small but close knit team were also both human, leaving Mira as the only lylatian in the group. Humans were the dominant race in the task force, given anti-biological task forces have never been needed until recent lylatian history. It was only about a decade ago when Corneria looked to the IBTTF for aid in dealing with the biological containments across their planet, as well as hunting down Andross's genetic nightmares around the system.

"ah, is the wee little kitty getting upset?" she just about smacked the source of the childish voice, choosing to glare at the bearded, red haired, human combat veteran. He was one of the long time veterans of the force, having fought in the Lylat wars less nine years ago.

"You should know Wilson, that I'm only half feline. Felines don't usually have this bushy tail or these ears." He rolled his eyes at her, adjusting his grip on the Cornerian squad automatic weapon he favored. He was the team's heavy assault specialist, and had a massive knack for firearms. The last quiet member of the group was the only other female, Naseeba Ayoub. She had long black hair, about the same length of Mira's but not as voluminous, light tan skin and incredibly lightly colored green eyes. She also happened to be the daughter of the human ambassador to the Lylat system, and had joined the IBTTF with Mira. She was the group's stealth specialist, favoring an old Kriss Vector sub-machinegun from earth, mounted with a silencer. It meant carrying around physical ammo, given it was a ballistic weapon, but it was surprisingly quiet.

"Wilson, when are you going to stop picking on her?" Wilson grunted, half chuckling to himself.

"When Small's stops leaving herself open for it Paki." Paki was Wilson's nickname for Naseeba, given she was from a country on Earth called Pakistan. Small's was his main nickname for Mira, given she was the smallest person in the group, and absolutely tiny compared to his massive frame.

"Alright children, cut it out. We'll be landing in thirty seconds, so charge and lock!" Naseeba cycled the bolt on her weapon, small quick whine's marking the other's Cornerian weapons powering up. Mira powered her small stockless carbine up, letting it drop to its sling as she pulled her blaster pistol out and charged it as well. She slipped it away and grabbed her carbine just as the ramp beside them dropped open, revealing the hanger bay beyond. Wreckage was scattered around the hanger, all chunks of blasted apart craft. Mira's eyebrow raised as they flooded off the ramp, weapons raised.

"Looks like someone came tearing through here with a rocket launcher. Wonder why they destroyed all of the ships." Wilson was the one speaking as a section of sky blue paint caught Mira's attention. She trotted over to it, recognizing the twisted hull before her as the wreck of a third gen Arwing. On the side of the sky blue G-Diffusers was a small white emblem, a stylized earth fox with wings. _Star Fox? Here?_ Confused, she quickly checked what was left of the cockpit, finding no signs of it's pilot inside.

"Mira, find something interesting over there?" she dropped off the hull and back to the deck plating as she responded, headed back over to Chris.

"Yeah, that's a Star Fox craft." She continued on her own at the questioning expression on his face.

"A mercenary unit. A really famous one. They are supposed to be the best pilots in the galaxy." He glanced at the wreck again before he responded.

"Well, those flight skill's didn't help him any. Alright people, we aint gonna find out what happened to our agents here! Lets move out!" she watched as he clicked his radio on, already speaking again. "Larsen, go ahead and leave, we'll call you when we need pickup, over?" the pilot acknowledged as they moved away, toward the door marked 'terminal' along the back wall. The five man team all lined up beside the door, Mira being the last member in the line, making her the breacher. Although she preferred picking locks and hacking doors open, the occasional boom or kick was needed, and was also part of her job. Once she saw that everyone was ready, she darted along their little group to stand by the door panel on the opposite side, a simple head nod from Chris telling her to open the door. The second she hit the button, the door slammed open, Chris leading the way through, followed closely by the rest of the team. The first two to enter would clear the corners, first the close, then the far. The second two would clear the back wall and the corners, setting up interlocking sectors of fire off the two edge team mates. Mira usually would just pull rear security, unless another team was already doing so for them. Then she would simply slide in beside the third man in, sweeping roughly the same fire sector. She sat out side the door, calmly watching the hanger until she heard Chris shout clear from the room, prompting her to follow him inside. The second she stepped through the door, she was hammered with a powerful rotting smell, nearly knocking her over.

"God, what the hell is that stench!?" the room was near pitch black, the only light being from a sparking cable dangling from the ceiling. Light slowly flooded the room as dormant screens powered on. Several of the screens were cracked and shattered, marked with blaster burns. Similar burns covered the walls, and although there were blood smears and spots all over the floor, there was not a single body. Mira saw a couple of carbines just like her's amongst the rows of benches, covered in blood. The group started moving through the room, the door closing automatically behind them. The room was much like most spaceports around the galaxy, with the exception of the fact that the screens above were advertising different activities around the station, from the theme park in the recreation sphere, to the dining in the residential one. An object on the floor drew Mira's attention and she stooped over to scoop it up, recognizing it as a magazine from a human blaster. Confused, she glanced around, noticing the shattered remnants of ceramic shell casings. "Will was here. Look." She gestured the magazine around her at the shattered bits, spotting another not far away.

"who?" she looked up at Chris and sighed, realizing that although small, most people didn't know a lot about other teams in the task force.

"Sorry, Agent Hawkins. He almost religiously sticks to human blasters. Complains that Cornerian weapons don't have the power needed to get the job done." Chris raised an eyebrow at her before he spoke.

"Alright then. Mira, with me, everyone else, I want you to head to the security room, see if you can discover what happened here. Mira, we're going to try and find our field agents. Stay in radio contact at all times." The small group all nodded, the three of them heading off toward one of the booths, knowing that there were stairs leading off to the employee area's of the station. Meanwhile, Chris lead her off, deeper into the station itself.


	2. Chapter 1

**Heyo! it's another chapter! anyway, trying to show that, although still a wreck, will is not as bad as he was in Deception. also, i'm curious as to how many of you caught that Mira's parents and family are still alive in the last chapter? anyway, i hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please pardon the fact that this is one long set up. (Normally i've had some action appear in a story by now) drop reviews with what your thinking so far!**

* * *

 _Residential sphere, Ares station._

"The stationed is powered by a series of solar cells, catching Solar's light and transmitting it here to the station. It saves an unbelievable amount of money, and is only possible thanks to Ares location above the Lylat system's elliptical plane." Fox didn't really pay attention as the female attendant spoke to him, his mind still focused on the strange message, along with the image, that Katt had sent him just a few days prior. Fox nearly ran into the Feline as she stopped, a slight smirk on her face.

"And you haven't heard a word I've said. Alright, what's your game here?" he glanced around the exuberantly decorated hallway, absently scratching the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Uh, nothing, just looking to relax." She raised an eyebrow at him, her tail flicking around behind her.

"Alone?" he shrugged, realizing that it may have been smart to bring someone else along.

"Well, ah, I figured I'd try to find some company here…" he shuffled his feet, one of his legs bumping up against the heavy suitcase in his hand. She smiled at him, beckoning for him to follow.

"Well if you want, when I get off I could show you around a bit, until you find that company you are looking for." Fox's mind instantly became a battlefield, for more reasons than he could admit. On one hand, it would help his cover if he was seen just hanging out and relaxing, on the other, he wanted to start searching for Krystal right away. on another plane entirely, what would Krystal think if he accepted this woman's little proposal, would she be okay with it? would she ever even know about it? before Fox realized it, he had been silent for several minutes, leaving her answerless. "so, strong silent type huh? Ya kinda remind me of one of the guys I escorted earlier. He seemed to have something on his mind too." Fox sighed, speaking before he could catch himself.

"Just lost someone recently, that's all." She smiled to him, gently bumping his shoulder.

"Hey, at least you're here. Maybe that will help you through this?" he smirked, unable to keep from doing so. Whoever this woman was, her optimism was contagious.

"Yeah, Maybe, that's what my crew thought." He tried to shift from the total honest streak that broke out, trying to cover his tracks a little. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, what's a good club around here?" she smiled, finally stopping at a cabin and gesturing to it.

"I go to a place called solstice. I'm off in a couple of hours, if you want me to take you to it." he nodded and smiled to her as she opened his room's door.

"Sure, I'd like that. I'll be here, getting settled till then. Thanks." She smiled as he walked in, dropping his suitcase and assault pack, Krystal's staff rolling out of it's slot. He cursed, about to go pick it up when the attendant did so for him.

"what is that, if I may ask?" he shrugged trying to think up an excuse quickly.

"Oh, just an old gift. Thanks." He smiled as he accepted the small rod, it being barely a foot long at the moment.

"It's pretty. And kinda scary. Is it supposed to shock you a little?" he smirked, remembering the first time picked it up, and the massive surge of energy it pumped into him.

"Must've picked up some static on the trip or something. I keep it with me. Good luck charm of sorts." _More like makes my luck._ His thought almost slipped out of his mouth again.

"Oh, cool, well, my name is Savannah, if you need anything, just call me up on the communicator there, my number is already programmed in. I'll be off at nineteen hundred, see ya then!" with that, she turned and stepped off into the hallway, the door closing behind her. fox sighed and slumped to the bed, still holding Krystal's staff. He quickly found himself wishing she was lying beside him, a memory of a night nearly half a year ago drifting into mind. Before he let himself get lost in that memory, he dragged himself back to the present, opening the suitcase to reveal a small subspace comm device inside, as well as his faithful carbine and an equipment vest, which he quickly stuffed away in the closet. He also dropped his equipment belt, with his usual blaster still dangling off it, and hung that as well. This left him in his lightweight green cargo pants, white t-shirt and vanilla long sleeve jacket, his ever present red bandana wrapped firmly around his neck. He quickly turned the transmitter on, punching in a number from his personal wrist computer. After a few seconds, the screen lit up with a familiar black furred face.

"Hey Fox, you on Ares?" he nodded and she continued. "Alright, that picture I nabbed I got from an old friend that works there. Her name's Savannah. Try to ask her casually about it, if you can. I know that's not your strong suit." Fox scratched the back of his head, half grinning.

"Uh, well, what if I told you that I already ran into her. and I may have been asked out on a date by her?" Katt giggled hysterically before she spoke.

"Wow, that is just perfect. Anyway, just, you know, talk to her, with out scaring her with your gruesome war stories. How Krystal ever fell in love with you is beyond me. Anyway, then try to bring him up. Subtly. Or try to at least. I'll try to find a back door into their systems, see if I cant get camera access or something from here on Katina. By the way Fox, good luck, and I hope you really do find her." he smiled before letting his finger hover over the end call button.

"Thanks Katt. And thank you for helping me with this." She smirked on the screen before they both ended the call, Fox closing the suitcase and sliding it into the closet. It didn't take him long to unpack the two other outfits he brought from his assault pack, packing them away in a drawer before he flopped onto the bed to wait.

* * *

Will finished reassembling his pistol on the small vanity inside his room, having just made sure that it was perfectly cleaned and oiled, ready for a fight. He had also brought a small hybrid weapon, made by humanity. It used a hydrogen based round, but fired a lot more of it than Cornerian blasters. It was designed to be a small but powerful personal defense weapon, filling the same nich that sub-machineguns used to fill. It was a very boxy weapon, with a large magazine to give it a couple hundred of it's powerful blasts, even though it was still out powered by the Cornerian SAW, shot for shot. It looked a lot like the Kriss vector in some ways, with a very similar fold out stock and set up. But the front of the weapon was taller and more rectangular, holding a built in flashlight and laser, with the boxy magazine right behind that. That particular weapon was sitting on the vanity as well, it's single point sling draped off the edge of the furniture piece. All of the furniture was made of hand carved wood, and the room was surprisingly large, with it's own small kitchenette and everything. Heck, the bathroom itself was bigger than the entire apartment Will was looking at renting on Corneria. The bed was on a raised dais, a single massive window looking out into space behind it. the vanity was on the wall beside it, with the bathroom being across from that. A wall with a closet separated the bedroom area from the rest of the room, being a small living space, just a couch and two recliners, situated on the closet wall, where a massive screen resided, and both the latest in Cornerian and human gaming consoles below it, as well as an array of games and movies. The small kitchen space was on the same wall as the bathroom, with a full stove, fridge and dishwasher. Behind the couches and closest to the door was the dining table. Suddenly, a quiet chime rang through the room, causing Will to sigh as he stood, slipping his blaster into his holster with a mag in as he moved to the door. He opened it to find Ramirez on the other side.

"Come on Will. I want your eyes with me for this one." Will raised an eyebrow at Ramirez, leaning up against the door jam.

"With what?" Ramirez grinned, grabbing his shirt and pulling him out.

"Investigating this club, Solstice. Now let's go." Will groaned, straightening his grey t-shirt, a faded game logo in the center of it. he had left his customary jacket in his room, leaving him in the shirt and dark grey combat cargo pants, bloused into a set of black combat boots.

"I doubt you want me as your partner on this one Ramirez. Combat gear and a blaster aren't the best wingman." Ramirez turned to him, grinning.

"Sure it is, it'll scare 'em away from you and right into my wonderfully comforting arms." Will rolled his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest as he walked. "Hey, maybe you'll find yourself a cute Lylattian gal while you're at it. Maybe one that's not scared by your psychotic craving of combat and warfare." That comment managed to get a small smile onto Hawkins face, but not much more. Hawkins suddenly started thinking of a friend of his back on Corneria, a half cat half fox named Mira, remembering how she had called him the second she found out about the incident with his now ex-wife. Through the entire process, she had been there to comfort him and support him. He sighed, doubting that she was even single, and knowing that, since she had joined the IBTTF, it was highly unlikely that he would ever see her again. Before Hawkins had noticed, they were walking into the club, and he couldn't help but let his jaw drop. All thought of Mira disappeared from him as he looked around the club, complete with several tiers of floating bars and dance floors, several round stages floating around with dancers and one with a live band,. The dark room was filled with pulsing lights, a light mist, thin enough to not really be seen, but thick enough to catch the light and lasers that were being shown through it, crisscrossing and flaring across the area. It was undoubtable one of the coolest clubs he had ever been in. and beyond that, there were hundreds of clearly single women, both human and Lylattian, moving around. Most were wearing less than normally appropriate clothing. But, surprisingly enough, Will didn't stick out as much as he thought, given several males throughout the bar were also armed, still half in combat gear, just like him. Ramirez led the way to one of the many bars, ordering himself a beer. Will on the other hand, ordered a bottle of hard liquor and a glass so he could just pour it himself.

"Damn Will, startin heavy tonight?" Will just glared at him, staring into the glass in front of him. "Alright, at least play a little game with me, help me guess what people's occupation's and shit are." Will sighed and turned around, resting his elbows on the bar.

"Fine. Who's first." As odd of a game as it sounded, it was something the two of them had done in bars across the sol system, back when they were both single and deploying to the colonies.

"Alright, the orange fox over there, the one with the white Mohawk." Will chuckled, taking a second look at the man.

"Too easy, I've met the guy, Fox McCloud. Mercenary, fighter pilot, and war hero. He's a Lylattian big shot as far as celebrities go. Killed Andross and the Aparoid queen." Ramirez looked at will with an eyebrow raised.

"You're shitting with me." Will shook his head, gesturing at a few of the female Lylattians around them.

"Nope, watch the women whenever he moves. They all want to be where that Cheetah is." Sure enough, it seemed that most of the Lylattian women were keeping an eye on him, several of them watching him and just about nothing else.

"Alright, alright, that gal, there. Canine, looks like a white cocker spaniel." The women in question had extremely long curly white hair, almost hiding her features. She was wearing simple light grey cargo pants that barely fit her and a long sleeve hoodie, and honestly looked less than comfortable in the club.

"Engineer, maybe works here, maybe works on one of the ships that's here. Not much of a party goer, probably just got dragged here. Given she's watching that lynx out on the dance floor, she's either white's friend or white is a lesbian." Ramirez started laughing as Will downed another shot. "Alright, your turn. That guy over there, in the business suit." The man in question was a human with average length black hair, combed back in a very organized way, and was sipping on a fruity cocktail as he talked with a similarly dressed bulldog.

"Toy salesmen." Will looked at Ramirez and shook his head, laughing quietly to himself.

"No way, now you are really just guessing." Ramirez glared back at Will elbowing him in the side.

"Oh yeah, and white over there being an engineer wasn't just a guess?" Will shrugged and Ramirez continued on his own. "Alright fine, you go talk to white, I'll go talk to the guy in the business suit. If we're both right, nothing happens. If were wrong, hundred credits to the other player. What do ya say?" Will smirked and accepted Ramirez's hand.

"And if it ends up that you've failed one more than me, you're covering my tab." Will kept his grip on Ramirez's hand, preventing him from back out while the idea ran through his brain.

"Alright, done. Meet back here?" Will nodded and let go, already moving toward the female canine. Will slowly made his way through the crowd, stopping just behind the female canine. It took him a few seconds to decide exactly what to say, finally settling on something.

"Hey there." She jumped a little, clearly not expecting someone to say anything to her.

"Um, hi?" she looked both confused and startled, clearly very wary of the armed human that just approached her.

"My name is Hawkins, and well, me and my friend have this bet going…" she suddenly cut Will off, speaking very quickly.

"No, I wont have sex with you, creep." Will froze for a second, stunned. He chuckled a little as he recovered, trying to sound calm as he continued.

"Yeah, no that wasn't the bet. What do you do for a living?" she glanced at him, suddenly seeming a lot less hostile, but still cautious.

"I'm an engineer, here on the station." Will smled, unable to help but pump his arm a little. She smirked, her cautious stance relaxing a little.

"Ok, now I have to know, what was this bet?" Will shrugged, trying to remain friendly.

"Oh, just a stupid old bar game we have. We try to guess the occupations and so on of the people in the bar, maybe a little about them. And when we're feeling brave, or bored, we check and see after our guesses." She couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes at him.

"Okay, what ll did you guess about me then?" he froze, clearly very uncomfortable.

"Um, well, I guessed you were an engineer. Annnd that you either got dragged here by that lynx over there, or that you have an affinity towards females, and the lynx happened to catch your eye." The canine laughed, glancing out at her friend as she responded.

"Well, one of those was right. I hate clubs, but Miyu _always_ drags me with her, I'm her back up should some guy start creeping to much on her. although she says she's trying to get me to find somebody." Will grunted, clearly still a little embarrassed.

"Glad I'm not the only one who got dragged here. What's your name?" she smiled, holding out her hand as she spoke.

"Fay Collie. But just call me Fay." Will accepted her hand, finally relaxing a bit.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Fay." She smirked, a third voice joining the conversation.

"Oy, I thought the plan was to see if your guess was right, then meet back up?" Will glared at Ramirez, his arms crossing.

"Doesn't hurt to try to be friendly about it. meet Fay Collie. She's an engineer, here on the station, oh, and she got dragged here by her friend, the lynx out on the dance floor." Ramirez grumbled, looking totally defeated.

"The guy was a friggen hover car salesmen. Was meeting up with his Cornerian counterpart." Will laughed, clapping his shoulder.

"Guess you have my tab for the night. Guess I'll have to find a way to run it u on ya." Ramirez looked sour for a few seconds before something hit him, grabbing Will by the arm and yanking him away, much to both Will and Fay's surprise.

"You said Fay is an engineer on this station right?" He nodded at Ramirez's hushed words, looking very confused. "We could use her, she might be able to help us find that supposed lab, if it even exists." Will smiled, rolling his eyes at his larger companion.

"Alright, I'll ask her." he stepped back to Fay, Ramirez hot on his heels.

"Ask me what?" she had gotten back into her defensive stance when Will pulled his badge out, holding it out to her.

"We're IBTTF agents, and we could use your help with an investigation."

* * *

Fox tried to seem relaxed as he lounged in the booth style bench he was sitting on, the attendant from earlier beside him in jean shorts and a bright yellow filmy top that was just a little too small for her, making her curves pop more than Fox was comfortable with.

"So, Fox, most of those interviews don't say a lot about what you do in your free time, so what do you do?" Fox shrugged, watching the crowd around him.

"Well, honestly, I almost never _have_ free time. But I used to sit on this park bench in my younger days and guess what people did for a living. Hell, it's probably why I'm any good at bounty hunting actually." Savannah smiled, her eyes combing the crowd for a few seconds, spotting the two IBTTF agents she escorted to their cabins earlier.

"Alright, the two humans by the bar there, what do they do for a living?" Fox glanced at them, seeing that one was in a T-shirt and jeans, the other wearing a half tucked T-shirt with an equipment belt, a blaster hanging off the belt and strapped to his thigh.

"Cops of some sort. Given one has an equipment belt, I'd guess they are supposed to be on the job right now. And since they aren't in an official uniform, I would lean toward that human counter bio-terror agency, cause they seem to fit the few of them I've met before. The one who's armed I would guess is either just an alcoholic, or just is trying to forget something. And given the blaster, I get the feeling that he was dragged here by his partner, which leans me toward trying to forget something. The other, he's single, and a partier. starting easy on the liquor so he remembers more of the night." She looked shocked, smiling at him.

"And what if I told you that you were just about spot on? They are IBTTF agents, I just escorted them earlier. And the one who is armed was all business, didn't care one bit about the resort. The other was trying to get him to loosen up." Fox grinned, unable to contain it. His uncanny skill of judging people like that had carried him far as a mercenary, and even shocked the telepath on his team.

"Told ya so. I got a good eye for people. It's really useful as a mercenary." As he watched, the two of them made a deal of some kind, leaving their empty drinks on the bar as they split apart. Curious, Fox watched them, seeing the unarmed one talking to a human in a suit, the other chatting with a Cornerian gal. after a few seconds, the unarmed one seemed to finish whatever conversation he was having, moving over to where the armed one was, still talking to the gal. his attention slipped away from them as the woman beside him spoke.

"Um so do you have anyone special in your life?" he shrugged, not really sure what to say. He had proposed to Krystal, just hours before her abduction.

"I was engaged but, well, it's complicated." The woman nodded, remaining silent. "What about you?"

"No, cant seem to hold a boyfriend for more than a few months. I've never understood it." Fox smiled, unable to stop himself.

"I'm sure you'll find someone, someday. We all do. It's just a matter of having the guts to say it, and being willing to open our eyes to see it." she smirked, resting her head on one of her knees.

"yeah, that seems to be everyone's opinion. Doesn't seem like it's true though." Fox smirked kicking back, not even realizing how much he was relaxing.

"I used to think it was just an opinion. Hell, I have for most of my life. That changed when I met her…" his voice slipped off, unable to continue.

"If she was so perfect, why aren't you with her?" Fox's face darkened, looking away.

"Because I have to find her. I just hope it's not too late now." he mentally kicked himself, realizing he had said too much.

"So she's gone? Did she just leave or did you two fight, what?" he sighed, realizing that he had gone too deep to really pull out now.

"No. she was kidnapped. And I know who took her." he opened up his communicator, finding the photo Katt sent him, the blurred image of a dark figure, nothing more than an outline, except for one of his eyes glowing red. "His name is Wolf O'Donnel. And when I find him, I will kill him."


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey All! i hope this chapter gets at least some blood pumping, and i hope i'm doing a good job writing this. if you happen to be reading this, do let me know how i'm doing, i could really use the insight!**

* * *

Chris Mills watched the strange Lylattian native as she moved ahead of him. She was both fox like and cat like, sharing qualities of both races. This was something he wasn't used to seeing, even with having been stationed on Corneria for almost a year now. Most Cornerian's looked like an animal from earth, only walking on two feet rather than four. The particular girl ahead of him had an almost human shade of tan fur, and an almost explosion of brown hair, which was usually fairly straight, curving ever so slightly back toward her face, and usually left free and bouncy. It fell well below her shoulders, the lack of uniform regulations letting her do so. Her ears were much like a fox's, sticking up out of her hair, as well as her bushy tail, swaying back and forth with each step. Her face had a much shorter muzzle than a fox's, even though it looked very similar to one, albeit, a little wider than most Cornerian vulpines. Her stunning sapphire colored eyes could easily ensnare anyone's attention, male or female. Not that her very well sculpted body had any trouble at that. He tried to wretch his brain away from that, almost cursing to himself. _Damn man, you're married! It can't be hard to resist a damned alien with that hanging over ya!_

"Um, Chris, do you see this?" she had stopped ahead of him, in the doorway leading out of the terminal. The door before him looked half closed, forming a hexagonal shape with it's four sliding sections, closing from the corners of the door. He trotted forward to catch up to her, not even realizing that he hadn't been moving at all. She was covering her mouth and nose as he approached, the smell of rotting flesh growing incredibly strong. He nearly gagged himself when he saw what was jamming the door, wedged into the left hand Vee shape made by the doors. It was a brown furred forearm, three of it's fingers blasted off, as well as where the rest of the arm would be if it were still attached to the body. The bones were clearly shattered and crushed, the material being the only thing holding the door open. "Is that what I think it is?" He nodded, a disgusted expression on his face. She turned away and puked, the sound of vomit hitting the metal plating caused him to dance a few steps away from her, startled by her reaction.

"Seriously? You've fought Aparoids, and a rotting forearm makes you gag?" she flipped him off in an amazingly human gesture.

"Aparoids don't smell all that bad! That on the other hand is someone's fucking forearm rotting there!" he shrugged, trying to figure out how it got there. There were blast marks all over the door, as if someone was trying to shoot the arm out of the way. He shrugged, looking down the darkened corridor, the hair's on the back of his neck standing on end as he could swear he heard something move ahead of him. His Cornerian blast rifle snapped up, the light attached to the side flicking on to illuminate the once ornate corridor. Several power junctions had ruptured, leaving paneling blown out in more than one spot. He sighed, guessing it was his imagination as his radio sprung to life, Reece's voice on the line.

"Hey Chris, we got a few camera feeds up. This station is in tatters. Like something just went on a rampage through here." He was reaching up to his radio as a camera feed was sent to him, straight from them in the security room. It appeared in his HUD system, projected onto a set of ballistic grade eyewear he was wearing. It was of deserted hallway after deserted hallway, all in the same condition as this one. He was about to key his radio up as an exterior feed appeared, showing their dropship, a quad engine craft that the engines were placed well away from the main hull, on rotating gyro's to let the craft easily hover. It was humanity's main combat dropship. Suddenly, something streaked onto the screen, red plasma bolts erupting from the craft and impacting the dropship. The pilot obviously tried to dodge the sudden attack, but to no avail, the dropship erupting into dozens of shards. The fighter looped back toward the station, passing close enough to the camera for him to get a good image of it.

"Fuck! Alright, you three, keeping looking at those camera's, see if you cant find anything on them, okay?" they acknowledged as he moved into the dark corridor, Mira trotting to catch up with him as she continued to wipe bile away from her muzzle.

"What did I miss?" he sighed, still scanning the corridor with his light and his weapon.

"Someone just took out our transport. We're stuck here." He saw her gulp, her eyes widening.

"there's another way off this station though, right?" he sighed, unable to stop it.

"We'll have to find one." He heard her curse to herself, wanting to do the same. He started to march deeper into the hallway, weapon remaining raised. After several minutes of walking deeper into the corridor, something ahead of them moved, causing both of them to freeze. Whatever it was, seemed to be just out of range of Chris's light. He glanced at Mira, seeing her weapon already raised as well. They both walked forward, his light slowly inching closer toward whatever the thing was. His heart was racing as his light slowly lit the object up, relief flooding through him as he realized it was just a maintenance bot, attempting to clean carbon scoring off the floor. He rolled is eye's walking over to the small bot and giving it a gentle kick. The small boxy unit clattered over onto the floor from the light kick, it's wheels whirring as it struggled to figure out how to get back up.

"Stupid bot. damn near gave me a heart attack." Mira chuckled along side him, just before something shifted in the corner of his eye. By the time he had snapped his weapon up, the creature was already slamming into him.

* * *

Fay looked at the badge in the humans hand, her eye's flicking between the badge and the weapon on his hip. She had figured he was a security guard for a ship that was just passing through, given Solstice had it's own dock and hanger, letting passing ships dock and party. She had no idea that they were a part of an enforcement agency.

"Uh, what do you mean, investigation?" the armed human shrugged, slipping his badge away.

"Just a tip we received, I expect it to be a wild goose chase, but in the off chance it's not, we wouldn't mind some help in chasing it down." She glanced out at her friend on the dance floor before she responded.

"Okay. What do you need?" he shook his head, gesturing toward the crowd.

"This is not the place to speak of it. too many ears. Um here, this is our cabin number, meet us there say, tomorrow morning?" she nodded, holding her hand out to the human. He politely shook it, her voice slipping back out.

"You don't mind if I bring my friend? She's an entertainer on the station, she might be able to tell you about any suspicious people on the station." The armed man shrugged, clearly uncertain about it.

"Yeah, the more the merrier." His partner was the one speaking now, the armed human rolling his eyes at him.

"Well, in any case, enjoy your night Fay. I'm going to head to bed. Leave this partying shit to people who actually like it." the armed agent was speaking again, Fay gently grabbing his wrist.

"Just gonna walk off without telling me your name now?" his shoulder's slumped as he started skyward, audibly cursing himself.

"I'm Sorry. William Hawkins, former Lieutenant, U.S. Army Rangers, now a counter bio-terror agent." She smiled and they shook hands, followed by her hand gesturing out to her friend on the dance floor.

"That out there is Miyu Lynx. Although this may not be the best time to introduce you two….." her voice slowed to a stop, watching the Lynx do a very sexual dance to black feline out on the dance floor, her very loose gold top swaying over her stomach, nearly flashing her breasts with every movement. "She gets a little…. Wild at clubs." She made a disgusted expression, never having been able to understand how her friend could act with so little self-respect.

"Hmph. Reminds me of someone." Will pointedly elbowed his partner as he spoke, his partner groaning in protest.

"I'm not that bad! She's just _really_ desperate. Maybe I should g-" he didn't get to finish his statement as Will smacked him over the head, in no way gently either.

"Get your head on straight Ramirez, shesh." He grunted, his eye's still locked on the lynx on the dance floor.

"Um, maybe I'll join you in heading to your cabin Will." Will nodded, Fay following him toward the door to the club, glancing back to see her friend dancing with Ramirez, or more accurately, on. She rolled her eye's and followed Will through the station. Waiting patiently when they stopped at his cabin for him to open the door. As soon as they were inside, she shut the door, feeling more than nervous to be alone in a room with someone for the first time in what felt like ages. She wrung her hands together, unable to not feel more and more nervous as he unclipped his equipment belt, dropping it off somewhere in the bedroom, out of her sight. When he came back, he had a small handled portable computer that was clearly armored and designed for someone who was regularly shot at. He set it on the coffee table, opening it up and activating it as he sat down. She plopped down next to him, unintentionally bumping into him a little, to which he instantly scooted far enough away to not be touching her. his fingers tapped at the screen for a few seconds, opening a file up on the computer.

"So we got a tip that there was a Biological weapons lab hidden on this station. Normally, we would be a little more cautious with anonymous tip, usually doing some research on the source, but we were also sent this." He tapped the screen to play the video, a very fuzzy and dark image scrolling across. Whoever it was, was trying to focus the recorder on something in a large cylindrical tank. All she could see was a dark shape that looked as if it walked on all fours, hunkered low to the ground, if it were on the ground. Whatever it was, seemed to be attached to the side of the tank. Suddenly, the footage stopped, going dark before he closed the file.

"So do you think that footage is from the station?" Will shrugged, opening another file.

"I don't know, but I did some scoping through the archives, and I found something in that looks similar to that thing, but it still aint the same. Called a licker." The creature it showed was a slow spinning 3D build of a strange creature that for a second she thought had red skin, before she suddenly realized that it was actually exposed muscle and tendon. It's eyeless head looked like it's brain was on the outside, it's mouth open with a long, snake like tongue sticking out, almost a full meter long. it's limbs all ended in five long straight claws, almost like fingers. Beside it were a group of human words she couldn't understand, quickly pulling her communicator up to translate it. the text popped up on the screen, prompting her to read it.

 _If encountered, use extreme caution. Uses sound and taste to hunt prey. Can launch tongue out and penetrate flesh almost fifteen feet away, as well as crawl on walls and remain motionless for hours to days. Can be easily injured by impacts to the head, due to exposed brain. Extremely strong and fast, using erratic jumping movements to approach prey. DO NOT ENGAGE IN PHYSCAL CONTACT. Created using the T-virus, and it is possible to be transmitted through fluid contact._

She gulped having finished reading about it. and she couldn't help but agree that the thing in the tank indeed seemed to sit similarly, but there had been several differences. The feet for one didn't appear to have the same claws, but there wasn't enough detail to the grainy image to tell.

"That sounds really dangerous. And what's this virus it mentioned?" Will closed the files and then shut the laptop, leaning back into the sofa.

"The T-Virus? Well, near as I could tell, it caused the recently deceased and the living to start eating people. It was used to create dozens of different abominations and was able to infect almost all species, usually with slightly different effects. A vaccine was discovered for it, and a could chunk of the human population are now completely immune to it. hell, it's still offered as a vaccine you can get done. All IBTTF agents are vaccinated against it. so it's not as dangerous to us as it used to be. These files are damn near two centuries old." Fay grunted, pulling up her Engineering access on her communicator.

"So what do you think we are looking for?" Will shrugged, clearly thinking very deeply.

"Well, most Bio labs I've raided are really advanced tech. primarily due to the cost to make a bio-weapon. Most have powerful security systems, although that may be shrugged off here. They should have a very large draw on the power grid though, and a fair size. So I would say, look for a large area not accessible by the public that you have never been too, and has a high power draw." She frowned in concentration, flicking through sections of the stations schematics and blueprints. She groaned, guessing that a simple once over wasn't going to find it.

"Well, give me some time, and I think I can write up a program to do the searching for us." Will nodded, standing and stretching.

"Alright. Feel free to use the computer there. It's a lot more powerful than it looks. Let me know if you turn something up, I'm gonna be sleeping." She nodded, opening up the laptop and putting a few commands in to start building her new program. She sighed before she started, knowing that this was going to take a while.

* * *

Fox watched the confused feline for a few seconds, waiting for her to respond. She seemed to stumble over herself several times before she spoke.

"H-How did you get that picture?" he sighed, taking one last look at it before he closed the image.

"Katt. She said you sent it to her." Savannah shakily nodded, still clearly shocked.

"So you know Katt…." Fox nodded, smiling slightly.

"Me and Katt go way back. Met her through Falco." That name clearly meant something to her, causing her to nod.

"I guess that makes sense. Why does this image mean anything? Who is this Wolf O'Donnell?" Fox sighed, looking down at the floor between his feet, his ears flattened to his head.

"He's a mercenary, and a vile one at that. I gave him a second chance after the Aparoid threat, let him fly with us. I thought he had changed during the Aparoid invasion but apparently not. One night, while I was out grabbing food, he came into my home and took my fiancé. I've been trying to hunt him down ever since. That picture is the closest I have ever gotten to him." She signed, placing a hand on his shoulder as she spoke.

"Well, I took that picture here in the club. I noticed that creepy figure later, zoomed the image to try to get a better view. Just chilled me to the bone, so I sent it to Katt. I can't help beyond that, I'm sorry." Fox cursed, his head dropping into his hands.

"It's fine. I'll keep searching, see if I cant pull any strings to find him. And that is something you can count on. I will find him." Fox stood, headed for the door. With in a second or so, the feline was beside him again, grabbing his wrist.

"Wait, I have an idea. Those two IBTTF agents might be able to help us. They're here for some investigation or something, maybe they can run a search or something for this Wolf O'Donnell fellow?" Fox grunted, gesturing for her to lead the way. She glanced around the club, it take her a few minutes to spot one of them out on the dance floor, dancing with a feline. She trotted through the crowd, trying to not run into anyone. She tapped his shoulder when she reached him, him barely turning his head toward her.

"Oh, hey uh, Savanah right?" she smiled and nodded, glanced at the feline beside him and feeling her hair stand on end.

"Miyu." She practically hissed the name out, a faint wild growl emanating from the other feline. Ramirez seemed to catch on almost instantly, stepping between the two of the before something could happen.

"Whoa there ladies, no need to get all fired up." Fox suddenly spoke, gaining the trio's attention.

"You're an Interstellar bio-terror agent right?" he nodded cautiously, glancing at Savannah as he did so.

"Um yeah. Are you telling everyone who we are?" Savanah shook her head, prompting Fox to continue.

"I need you're help. I'm hunting a known criminal on this station. He's been involved in Bio-Terror before. Interested?" the human glanced between Fox and the two felines, both of which were still glaring daggers at each other.

"Uh you should talk to my partner on that one. I'm kinda just letting him run the show right…." His voice dropped off as Miyu suddenly lunged at Savanah, claws extended. The human and Fox reacted almost instantly, restraining the two felines before either could land a strike.

"You useless loose bitch! What the hell are you doing here?!" Miyu grunted, struggling to break the human's hold on her.

"Hey, you cant blame me for taking what was left out. You're the one who shoved him away!" the snide remark was said with such sass and tease that it caused a fire to burn in Savanah's veins, Fox barely keeping his grip on her.

"Both of you! Cut! It! Out! I don't a literal cat fight kicking me out of this rather fine establishment!" the human's voice seemed to drag both of them out of their hormone driven hissing fest. "Will you two please, just simmer down, and lets act as civilized ladies here." They both continued to glare at each other, Fox shaking his head, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, can we get back to the business at hand?" the human gestured for him to follow, headed for the Club's exit.

"Yeah, follow me. You and my partner can discuss it. me, I think I'm gonna take miss Miyu here somewhere else, should she be willing." The feline smirked hanging off his arm in an instant, a small purr slipping out as she pressed herself against him.

"Oh, definitely." Savanah instantly spoke up, earning a glare from Miyu.

"Um, I'll just show Fox there. You two go, well, fuck off." Before either could respond, she stalked off ahead of them, Fox trotting up behind her.

"What the hell was that about?" she groaned, memories floating through her mind.

"Just don't ask. Come on, let's just get out of here." He nodded and quietly followed, clearly not willing to provoke her further.


	4. Chapter 3

**AAANND wow this has been a productive weekend for me. i hope this streak keeps up, i'm liking it! anyway, hope you all enjoy this, kinda just going with the flow on this story, working my way up to the present, so to speak. please, drop them reviews!**

* * *

A figure sat alone, up on a balcony overlooking the club, her eye's slipping through the crowd below. They bounced from person to person, looking for a specific person, her eye's freezing on a certain orange furred vulpine. She watched him for a few seconds, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Oh no, Fox…. What are you doing here?" she couldn't hold back the single tear that slipped out, closing her eye's for a second as she steeled herself for what she needed to do. Without a backwards glance, she stepped off the balcony, disappearing into the maintenance corridor beyond.

* * *

Mira was knocked aside as Chris was slammed to the floor, her small carbine being sent skittering away. She scrambled after it, not taking long at all to reach it. As soon as her fingers gripped the weapon, she rolled onto her back, facing back toward the scuffle behind her. Whatever it was, it was at least as large as Chris. For a second, she thought it was covered in purple skin, but she quickly realized that this wasn't so, as her weapon's light unveiled the slight glint of moisture across the creatures exposed musculature. All but it's head and limbs were exposed, those being covered in deep purple plates that were eerily familiar to her. she instinctively fired, forgetting that Chris was under it. the blue bolt from her weapon nearly blinded her as the weapon discharged, deflecting off of the creature's armor, leaving a small black burn. The round deflected straight into the ceiling, small bright bits of plasma spraying away from it, a couple landing on Chris's exposed fore arm. He screamed, but the creature seemed to ignore it, it's eyeless head looking straight at her. Mira instantly reacted, firing again and again. All but one of the shots glanced off it's armored sections, that one round striking the exposed flesh of it's shoulder. It screamed and leapt at her, Mira trying to block the creature's swing with her rifle. Sparks and shards of metal blasted across her as the weapon was shattered, the creature's three claws, previously hidden under the armor, ripping through her vest, nearly ripping into her flesh. She shrieked and kicked at the creature, knocking it on it's back. As she scrambled back, Chris was diving on top of it, one of his arms limp at his side, the other with a small utility knife in his hand.

"Shoot it again, now!" she drew her pistol off her hip, seeing an exposed section of the head, underneath, under it's jaw. She rammed the weapon there and fired repeatedly, coring out a section of it's head. It shrieked one last time before slumping on it's back, dead. Chris slumped back onto his rear, clutching his arm were a large amount of blood was flowing, looking like a section of his tricep had been sliced off.

"Oh god, shit!" she scrambled for his small aid kit, quickly putting a turnicate on just under his armpit before covering the wound the best she could with the small bandage in his kit.

"Damn, what the fuck was that thing?!" he was sweating profusely, panting slightly, his uninjured hand flexing over and over.

"You need help. Well, better help then I can get you." She quickly keyed up her radio, quickly speaking. "Nezzie, I need help, we got attacked, chris is hurt pretty bad. Transmitting co-ordinates now."

"We ca… rely… ar… ou…. Sa… gain…reaking up." She cursed, wondering what could be affecting their radios.

"Chris is injured!" she tried to speak slowly and clearly, hoping they understood her. she cursed, quickly collecting his fallen rifle before helping him to his feet, one of his massive arms draped over her shoulders. He groaned as she lifted him, herself doing the same as he weighed down on her. "Come on you big oaf. Lets get you some help. He smirked at her, rolling his eyes.

"Watch it kitty, I'm still your still commanding officer." She almost stopped moving to glare at him.

"Great, now you are calling me that too." He chuckled as they shambled on in silence, stopping as they nearly tripped over a piece of luggage, unable to really see with their only light source hanging limply at their side. She cursed quietly to herself, her body still shaking with adrenaline, thinking back to the Aparoid invasion. The armor on that creature back there reminded her heavily of some of the tougher Aparoids in that conflict. A new noise drew her attention, her eyes flicking up ahead of them, straining to raise the heavy weapon with one hand. The attached light illuminated another cleaning bot. she breathed a sigh of relief before she struggled to keep moving, headed back to the terminal.

* * *

Fox gently rapped his bare knuckles on the door to the room before him, realizing that it was only a couple of rooms away from his own. There was a few seconds before the door opened, a white canine Fox didn't recognize standing in the doorway.

"Um hi, did you need something?" she looked a little confused.

"Yeah, there's a human that is staying in this room, I need to speak with him." She glanced back into the room, clearly trying to think of what to say.

"Uh, he's…. well, asleep right now. I don't want to disturb him." Fox tried to stay calm, feeling himself slowly growing more and more anxious by the second.

"Can you please wake him, this is important." She bit her lip. Looking back at the room.

"Um, I'm not sure that's wise…."

"Please, it's really important." She sighed and closed the door in their faces. He was just about to turn away when the door opened again, a groggy looking human standing in the doorway.

"The hell do you want McCloud?" Fox couldn't help but take a step back at the human's sudden and fairly vehement words. Even so, something about the human seemed familiar to him.

"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" he grunted, leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Yeah. Aparoid's invasion of Corneria. I was decked out in armor at the time." Fox grunted, his mind flashing to his fighting on the ground, remembering helping cover a group of civilians to a bomb shelter, a human soldier helping fight off the Aparoids. "Now what do you want?"

"It would be better to speak behind closed doors." The human shrugged, gesturing for him to come in. they all sat clustered around the room's small coffee table, the canine he had met at the door setting a laptop on her lap, focusing more on that than the group.

"Alright, the hell do you want McCloud." Fox's eyes fell to the floor, unable to really look him in the eye as he thought of what to say.

"Well, I'm hunting a criminal. One who has known ties to some rather large bio-terror incidents. And he was here, on this station, not too long ago. If you can, I'd like your help with finding him." Fox glanced up at the human, shocked to see him changing from his groggy almost bored demeanor he had before to one of rapt attention.

"Tell me more, everything you got." He opened his wrist computer, pulling up the image Katt sent him, flipping it around so the human could properly see him.

"his name is Wolf O'Donnel. He worked in direct contact with Andross during the Lylat threat, and has been seen working for Oikonny and a whole list of other criminals, several of which were attempting to create bio-weapons based on Andross' work. This photo was taken three days ago, with in the club Solstice. I was sent the photo yesterday. And that's all I know for the moment." He nodded, tapping a few commands into a small phone like device that Fox recognized as a law enforcement issue tactical pad, a device able to be carried in one's pocket or mounted on their wrist, depending on the situation.

"Alright, I just checked the database, he is flagged as a high priority target, and I just notified the security staff to inform me if they spot him on camera. Not much else I can do for now. sorry. I'll let savannah know if I see something. If you'll excuse me, I'm tired, so I'm going to go sleep. Fay, update me if you find something." He stood as he spoke stepping into the bedroom area, out of Fox's sight. Fox took that as his que to leave, nodding to the canine before stepping out, headed for his room.

* * *

Fay's eyes were drooping as her program ran, having finished it only a few minutes ago. She expected it to be an hour or so before it provided any viable results, sighing as she leaned back in the chair. Before she could slip off to sleep, the laptop beeped, already finding an area with in the parameters she had set. She pulled the computer closer, curious as to what it had come up with. A puzzled expression crossed her face as she saw what part of the station the area was in, a seemingly large black zone on the schematics, drawing a fair bit of power. It said it was owned by Solstice, powering a distillery, but Fay knew from past experience that no distillery needed the amount of power being pumped into there. She glanced down at her watch, seeing that it had only been an hour or so since Will had gone to sleep again, and deciding to let him get some sleep, she stepped out into the hall, locking the door behind her. she pulled her phone out, typing in Miyu's number, it ringing for a few seconds before the feline answered.

"Hey, whacha calling for? You score with that human?" her voice was both whispered and slurred, making her difficult to understand.

"Um, no? I was building a program to help them in their investigation. Where are you?" she giggled, obviously still trying to be quiet.

"That officer dude's room! He's asleep right now, but I gotta tell you, he was wonderful!" Fay groaned, smacking her palm into her forehead.

"Miyu, you didn't do what I think you did, did you?" Miyu responded very proudly, not a bit of shame in her voice.

"Hell yeah I did! Best sex I've had in years. Mmm, if only he was awake, I could go for another ride." Fay attempted to not gag before she responded.

"Miyu, just meet me in the hall, I need you to come with me. I want to check something out, just not alone." Fay hung up the phone before Miyu could respond, still with a disgusted expression on her face. It was a few minutes before the door beside Will's opened, Miyu staggering out, her cloths not quite even on properly, showing anyone who happened to walk by half of her chest. Fay instantly rushed over, attempting to fix her top as Miyu spoke, almost fighting her.

"Hey, what are you doing? First you hang up on me, and now you're trying to pull my clothes off? That's not very nice of you!" Fay groaned, starting to regret her decision to have Miyu join her.

"I'm trying to fix your outfit, you're showing the whole damn station what you got." She purred as she smiled, Fay having only just gotten her top into a relatively normal position when she staggered back.

"But what if I like that thought?" Fay just shook her head, grabbing her friends hand and pulling her away.

"That isn't a good idea Miyu. Now come on." Fay's voice dropped to a mere whisper as she muttered to herself. "Shesh, how the hell did the two of us ever become friends?" they continued on, Fay having to stop every now and again for Miyu, who seemed to be able to be distracted by the smallest thing, even a maintenance bot drawing her attention for almost a minute. By the time Fay reached the maintenance shaft she had chosen to use, she was about to punch her friend. Where her drunk antics were usually fairly funny, at the moment, they were driving Fay up the wall. She tried her credentials on the access, only to have them denied. One of her eyebrows raised, having never been denied access to a maintenance shaft before. She quickly hacked into the system, using a back door she knew of to override the security on the door. The door slid open and she dragged Miyu inside, letting the door close before she spoke. "Miyu, I need you to be really quiet, okay? No talking. Please." Miyu nodded instead of speaking, Fay breathing a sigh of relief at that, the shaft was smaller than a normal corridor, even with Fay's relatively short height, she had to stoop slightly to move through it. it felt like it took them forever to move through maze of air shafts, pipes, and electrical lines before Fay froze, hearing voices somewhere ahead of them, just loud enough for Fay to hear them.

"-Cloud is here, on the station. I saw him myself." The owner of the voice was feminine, but Fay had no idea beyond that, not even able to tell the direction it was coming from.

"Then I believe now is the perfect time to test our new toys. Release the prototypes. You know the order." This voice sounded like it was coming from a speaker, the sound of it chilling her to the bone.

"I will. You sure we're immune?" yet another new voice joined the conversation, deep and course, and definitely male.

"You will find out, O'Donnel. Notify me when there are results." Fay gulped, moving back down the shaft, Miyu looking as scared as she was. Even drunk, she seemed to understand what they had just heard, trying to move quietly through the shaft. They reached the exit, stepping out into the hall only to hear some yelling the second they did so.

"Freeze! Turn around and place your hands on the wall! Slowly!" Fay cursed as she complied, the stations security guards weapons leveled on them.

* * *

Will slowly slid the white ceramic cartridges back into the magazine in his hand, one at a time, counting out the four shots. He had already refilled his other mags with the stash of rounds he had found. Thankfully, there was a box of rounds matching the caliber of his weapon, most of the rounds in the stash being rounds for an assault rifle of some kind. He sighed as he slipped the half full magazine into the weapon just before racking the weapon.

"Forty-four rounds. Not gonna last long here. Damn it, if only I could make it back to my room….." he groaned as he stood, every muscle in his body protesting the movement. "I hope Ramirez has been having better luck." He sighed again before shambling out of the maintenance corridor, heading for where they had agreed to meet up.


End file.
